A plurality of semiconductor chips are three-dimensionally laminated in order to meet a demand for a large scale integration (LSI) circuit with a high degree of integration and high capacity.
One of the three-dimensional mounting techniques is a through-silicon-via (TSV) technique. In this method, a fine hole is provided in a semiconductor chip, a through electrode is formed, and chips are vertically connected to each other by the through electrode. However, the TSV requires a machining technique. Therefore, a manufacturing cost per chip is high and, for example, a mechanical connection failure occurs due to stress or heat.
Another method of the three-dimensional mounting technique is a technique (ThruChip Interface, TCI) using inductive coupling. In the TCI, data communication is performed between the laminated chips using inductive coupling between a transmission coil and a reception coil (for example, see Patent Document 1).
In the TCI, an inductive coupling interface between the laminated chips is formed by inductive coupling between the transmission/reception coils and a transmission/reception circuit for processing data communication. A transmission circuit converts transmission data into a current. In a case in which the converted transmission current flows to the transmission coil, a received voltage is induced in the reception coil according to a change in the transmission current. Then, an induced voltage is detected by the reception circuit and the transmission data is restored. In the TCI, the transmission/reception coil is formed by a metal wire in a semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturing process and does not require a machining technique. Therefore, the TCI is superior in cost to the TSV and can solve a reliability problem caused by mechanical connection.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2005-228981